Author Topic: Grandparents - What makes you smile??  (Read 16760 times)

Offline babsfamhis

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Re: Grandparents - What makes you smile??
« Reply #63 on: Wednesday 23 August 06 19:53 BST (UK) »
I was about ten years old when my Great Granny Flewers died aged 100. I can remember being amazed that, although she was blind, she ciould go into the scullery and make a pot of tea. She also managed to get to the pub each day for her half of stout, and that is how she lost her sight - she was celebrating the birth of two great Grandchildren and everyone in the pub bought her a drink. She went home and fell face first into the coal fire, how she survived I'll never know, but she did and remained fiercely independant.

I hope I have her 'get up and go' if I live as long.

Babs



 
Flewers Middlesex area<br />Bowley London area

Offline Emmeline

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Re: Grandparents - What makes you smile??
« Reply #64 on: Wednesday 23 August 06 21:34 BST (UK) »
All the stories and photos are wonderful. I just recently gave the family ' button jar ' to my youngest daughter.
Filled with a vast assortment of old buttons which all have the children have played with through the years -one of their delights.
The message about the News of the World conjured up memories - I knew that for some reason I was not allowed to read it so as soon as it popped through the letter-box would dash down the stairs and read as much of it  as I could as I climbed back up  ::) ::)

Offline ninkynoo

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Re: Grandparents - What makes you smile??
« Reply #65 on: Thursday 24 August 06 12:41 BST (UK) »
My Nanna (The Duchess) was a frugal woman ,having lived through some hard times and losing her husband young.
I remember her keeping all the tiny slivers of soap and putting them together and making a marbly type soap from it.
Recently I met up with my cousin who was brought up by Nan .We were chatting about things and she disappeared upstairs and came down with something in her hand.It was a peice of Marbly soap.She had kept it and was surprised to find out that I remembered all about it as Nan died when I was 11.Nan died in the early 70's so is this a record for the longest lasting soap ?.
Lin
Pratt ,Burgess,Gladwell  ,Taylor, Forrester ,Layzell ,Watling ,Merryfield Raven Essex
Field ,Warren.Davis, Spickett ,Peppiatt ,Bucks
White born Dorset moved to Hampshire,Shropshire and finally to Essex
Katherine Murphy b1872 
Buggs ,Day ,Stygal,Balls ,Suffolk ,Norfolk ,Hertfordshire
Venables ,Hertfordshire

Offline Tephra

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Re: Grandparents - What makes you smile??
« Reply #66 on: Friday 25 August 06 11:15 BST (UK) »

Oooh I remember the 'Button Jar' it was always full of every shape and size of button and was a thing to behold.

The kettle on the hob or the pot of soup simmering away . . . . 

Scones fresh out of the oven . ..  yummmmmmm

Home made Eccles Cakes or 'Flat' Cakes that were soooooooo sweet . .. .

Playing the (very out of tune) piano in the parlour and Grandpa yelling out for me to "Turn that damn noise orf"

The trains going past the back yard and racing up to the iron bridge to stand in the steam as they went under.

Helping Granny to scrub the wooden table in the kitchen till it was white.

White stoning the front step . ..   does anyone remember that??

Barbara              8)
Onley/Only/Olney In Islington.<br />Wallwork In Bolton and Walkden<br />Lamb In Bolton and Ireland<br />Grundy In Bolton<br />Blackledge In Bolton<br />Osbaldeston  ?? ??<br />Barnett in Islington<br />Binyon in Islington
Kitchen in Bolton
Parker in Bolton


Offline PaulaToo

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Re: Grandparents - What makes you smile??
« Reply #67 on: Friday 25 August 06 11:51 BST (UK) »
Oh, Granny and her 'button jar.'
Mr Granny didn't have a 'button jar.' She had one of those beautiful biscuit tins with pictures of a midnight masquerade on it. This has proved a lucky escape for the tin, because it was always kept polished and clean and is still in pristine condition. Guess who has got it now.....
Bartlett/Henley on Thames
Caponhurst/Buckinghamshire and?
Denchfield/North Marston/Bucks
Webb/Winchester
Mathias/Pembroke/Pembroke Dock
John/Pembroke/Pembroke Dock
Smith/Portsmouth/Portsea
Purchas/Bucks and?
Olliffe/Bucks

Offline ninkynoo

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Re: Grandparents - What makes you smile??
« Reply #68 on: Friday 25 August 06 13:23 BST (UK) »
All this talk about buttons has given the old memory a jog.
I remeber sitting on the rack of Nans bike whilst she pedalled to various 'Jumblies'.
She would pick up an item of clothing and ask "how much ?".Upon being told the price ,she would put it back down and say "I only wanted it for the buttons".9 out of 10 times she would be offered it at half the price.
Aweek later one of the many Grandchildren would be seen wearing the item.
And yes ,she had one of the best button tins in the area.
Lin
Pratt ,Burgess,Gladwell  ,Taylor, Forrester ,Layzell ,Watling ,Merryfield Raven Essex
Field ,Warren.Davis, Spickett ,Peppiatt ,Bucks
White born Dorset moved to Hampshire,Shropshire and finally to Essex
Katherine Murphy b1872 
Buggs ,Day ,Stygal,Balls ,Suffolk ,Norfolk ,Hertfordshire
Venables ,Hertfordshire

Offline Meliora

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Re: Grandparents - What makes you smile??
« Reply #69 on: Friday 25 August 06 14:40 BST (UK) »
Well, I have just been reading all these lovely memories, perhaps you would like to hear this one of my beloved maternal Nanna.

She had a tough life, married at 20, her young husband already blind, they had 4 children 2 boys, 2 girls, my Mum was the second girl.  They built up a successful business between them of a greengrocers shop, coal merchant & carrier with several horse & carts, bu then Grandpa died in the flu epidemic of 1918 agee 44, so there she was aged 41 with 4 children & the businesses to run  & run them she did until her death at the age of 62.  What do I remember the most about her.  Her beautiful feather bed.  sounds like a song, doesn't it  "Grandma's feather bed"

When I was a tiny tot, it  must have been about 1929/30 my Mum was ill after a miscarriage & had to go away to a convalesense home so I went to stay with  Nan.  The only place for me to sleep was with her & oh, this feather bed.  I used to lie there cocooned in this bed in a lovely green & brass bedstead.  I had great fun with this bedstead, I found I could unscrew the knobs on the top of the end posts.  Opposite the end of the bed was the usual washstand, there being no bathrooms in those days.  Nan would wash herself there in the morning, she was not very tall & the best way to describe her was plumply rounded, cuddly.    She was getting dressed one morning when a little voice piped up "Oh, Nanna, what yards & yards of corserettes"  They were not the usual pink corsets but very posh light grey linen & if I close my eyes I can still see her holding up,pulling them round herself.  The family never let me forget that.

Would you believe all these years later I still have that feather bed but I had it made into huge square pillows that are still put to use for sitting on the floor.

Happy memories of a kind generous Nan, nobody went short of anything, many a familywho had a stuggle to make ends meet after loosing a husband or father in WW1 were grateful for the bag of vegetables she would find for them.

Meliora
RIP 1927-2018

This information is Crown Copyright from National Archives.gov.uk

Offline Tephra

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Re: Grandparents - What makes you smile??
« Reply #70 on: Saturday 26 August 06 04:11 BST (UK) »

Meliora, that was lovely hearing about the feather bed, and you are so lucky being able to keep the feathers.   

I remember my Nana's big iron bed, but it certainly wasn't as comfortable as yours . . . it was filled with the hardest substance known to man I'm sure.             :-\

Barbara           8)
Onley/Only/Olney In Islington.<br />Wallwork In Bolton and Walkden<br />Lamb In Bolton and Ireland<br />Grundy In Bolton<br />Blackledge In Bolton<br />Osbaldeston  ?? ??<br />Barnett in Islington<br />Binyon in Islington
Kitchen in Bolton
Parker in Bolton

Offline goggy

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Re: Grandparents - What makes you smile??
« Reply #71 on: Saturday 26 August 06 04:50 BST (UK) »
AAAH!
The Feather Bed,not 'ticked'as we have now,just a great big beautiful'sack'to hold the feather's.Summer time in a closed room was the time to take them out,spread over the floor and let them 'air'.
Then,you may have guessed,a rambuctious little 3y.o would open the door,see the pile of soft+downy temptation and jump in whooping!!
                 Goggy. ;) ;D